Technical Field
The present invention relates generally related to climbing and personal safety harnesses, and more particularly to a firefighter's combination escape and ladder belt.
Background Discussion
Firefighters and other first responders are routinely confronted with the danger of entrapment in burning buildings, some of which are multistory buildings. When rapid egress or escape is necessary, it is common for firefighters to use a rope and rappelling and descent equipment in connection with an emergency climbing harness to rappel to a safe level or to the ground. The harness assemblies generally include a waist belt. When falls are experienced during rapid descents, a waist belt having buckle and straps strengths sufficient to withstand forces from the fall may transmit those forces to the wearer, causing injury. Conversely, a waist belt having insufficient strap and buckle strengths that will fail under tension loads will allow a wearer to fall, likely causing serious injury or death.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a multifunction waist belt configured to withstand tension loads likely to be encountered in falls suffered in rapid egress situations, but also configured to absorb forces acting on the waist belt so as to prevent injurious forces from being transmitted to the wearer. The present invention provides such a belt.